My Hero
by TimIsaFunSucker
Summary: AmeBel AU. Natalia is a girl who works at the local book store. One day an annoying blonde boy comes in looking for a book, and Natalia instantly dismisses him for the idiot he seems to be. However, when he saves her life, she ends up wondering if there's more to him than meets the eye. Oneshot.
1. Story

Natalia huffed as she flicked the little yellow pencil with her slender finger. The pencil rolled across the smooth oak desk until it fell off the side with a slight clatter. Bored out of her mind, Natalia laid her head down on the desk and used her arms as a pillow. She knew she shouldn't fall asleep on the job, but her boss wasn't even around at the moment, and business was so slow, she highly doubted anyone would come into the shop to find her in such a state anyways.

However, just as Natalia's eyelids fluttered shut, the bell of the shop door rang, making them shoot open. Natalia quickly sat up, hoping no one had seen her trying to sneak a nap.

"Yelloooo...Is anyone there?" a voice called out from the front of the shop.

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Da, 'round back."

She honestly had never understood the book shop layout. It would be so much simpler to put the desk at the front of the store, but for some reason the layout called for one to work through a maze of bookshelves in order to get to the checkout desk. It was a hassle, and frankly, Natalia was surprised no one had gotten lost in the store before.

"Um...where exactly is 'around back?' I'm, like, totally lost right now."

Natalia rolled her eyes again and hung her head. She had been joking when she had thought that. How was it that the universe had known to send her someone so stupid at that exact moment?

She pushed herself up off from her chair and weaved through the bookcases until she reached the person who'd asked for her help. Said person was a tall man around the same age as Natalia, with straw-blonde hair with a single tuft that refused to go the same way as rest. He also wore glasses, and behind said glasses were sapphire-blue eyes.

"What do you want?" Natalia asked curtly. Her boss was always telling her she needed to be more friendly with the customers, but frankly Natalia thought being friendly was a waste of time. Instead, she preferred to be direct and to the point when she spoke.

The man turned his attention from the bookshelf he'd been looking at to Natalia, who was standing with her arms crossed over her chest in an irritated fashion. He smiled. "Hey, I'm Alfred," he spoke, holding his hand out to Natalia. Natalia didn't move.

"I don't care. What do you want?" Natalia repeated her question. She didn't have enough energy in her to exchange with pleasantries. Plus, she just plain didn't want to.

Alfred hesitantly put his hand down. "Um, what's your name?" he asked.

Natalia's frown deepened. "Natalia, but why do you care? Now what do you want?"

Alfred blinked. He was surprised at how cold Natalia was being. Normally girls were very nice and giggly around him, but this girl seemed different. Vaguely Alfred wondered if she was really "all there."

"Um, right. Do you have a copy of Pride and Prejudice? I need to read it for a class at college, but the library was all out of copies." he explained his situation to Natalia. As if she cared. Why couldn't people just simply state what book they wanted without telling her their life story? She didn't need to hear why you needed a particular book, she just needed to know which book so she could go and get it for you and you could leave her alone.

"Look under Classic Literature," she said flatly. The sooner Alfred left, the sooner she could be alone. Frankly, Natalia would rather be bored and alone than annoyed with a customer. She was about to turn to leave when Alfred started to talk again.

"Um, where exactly would I find that? No offense, dude, but your store is like a maze." he flashed her a smile after this statement, though, as if to say "no offense."

Normally Natalia would snap something along the lines of, "Look at the signs, you imbecile!" but something about the utterly lost look in the boy's eyes told her that this sensible advice wouldn't help in the slightest, and he'd still find a way to get lost again.

Sighing, Natalia motioned for the boy to follow her. As she led him to the appropriate shelf he tried to strike up a conversation, much to Natalia's irritation.

"So, since you work at a bookstore, I'm guessing you read a lot?" he asked.

Natalia internally groaned. "Yes." He may think he could engage her in casual chit-chat, but she would try her hardest to tune him out.

"Cool, so, what's your favorite book?"

Natalia paused her scanning of the bookshelves for a moment. To be honest, she couldn't really pick. There were so many tales worthy of being called her favorite, but pinpointing just one seemed so impossible. So, she simply shrugged and said, "Not sure."

Alfred nodded. "I don't really read much, to be honest, but my buddy Arthur is a big book-addict. I think he said his favorite author is Charles Dickens, or something. I don't know, some British writer."

Natalia could have laughed at Alfred's opening comment. "I don't read, much." She expected as much. His manner of speech and inability to browse a bookstore didn't exactly scream "literary scholar." Instead of laughing in his face, though, she responded with, "Your friend has good taste, Dickens is a genius." Just then her eyes finally landed on the spine of a book that read "Pride and Prejudice." Bingo.

She grabbed the book and handed it to Alfred. "Here." After he took it, she walked him back to the checkout desk. He continued to talk, though.

"So, do you have a favorite genre?" he asked as he joined her in weaving through the shelves.

Natalia nodded. "Romance." Though she may not act like it, Natalia was a hopeless romantic. She loved stories of heroes who swept ladies off of their feet, and took them away to distant lands. No one who met her would guess it, but she loved to curl up with a nice, steaming cup of tea and a romance novel on a chilly winter day. The only people who knew this side of her were her older brother and sister, whom she lived with.

"Huh, I wouldn't pin you as the romance type." spoke Alfred. Natalia shrugged.

"No one would." She stepped behind the desk and picked up the scanner that was lying off to the side. She took the book from Alfred's hands, scanned it, and then handed it back to him a a smooth, solid movement. "Will you be paying with cash or credit?" she asked.

"Credit," said Alfred while he reached into his pocket for his credit card. "My favorite's adventure."

Natalia looked up, confused. "Huh?"

Alfred smirked and handed her his card. "My favorite book genre is adventure."

"Oh," Natalia felt kind of stupid for temporarily forgetting what they had been talking about. "That's nice." She swiped his card and handed it back to him. "Thank you for your business."

Alfred nodded at her and picked up the book, ready to leave, but he paused when he saw what time it was. "Hey, Natalie, when do you get off of work?"

"Natalia." she corrected sternly, frowning at his seeming inability to remember a simple name. Then she glanced at the clock. "10, why?"

Alfred looked at Natalia sheepishly. "Well, that's only fifteen minutes from now, would you like me to walk you home?" He smiled at her warmly. "It's not safe for young ladies to be out alone so late."

Natalia had two options. One, tell Alfred off for assuming she couldn't hold her own against any petty thugs and shove him out the shop door, or two, accept his offer just to pacify him. While the first offer sounded tempting, Natalia was simply too tired to make the effort to kick someone out, and she agreed to have Alfred walk her home.

So, at 10 o'clock, Natalia was walking down the city street with Alfred in tow. He was chatting away happily about some new action movie, but Natalia wasn't really listening. She just wanted to get home so she could curl up next her warm fireplace with a nice story on her e-reader-

Suddenly, Natalia's mind blanked and she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, nearly causing Alfred to bump into her. "Whoa, everything okay?" he asked her. Natalia shook her head.

"No," she pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. "I left my e-reader at the bookstore." She sighed and turned around swiftly. "Wait here, I'll go get it."

Alfred frowned. "Do you want me to go back to the shop with you?" he asked tentatively. Natalia shook her head again.

"No, it won't take me long, I just have to unlock the shop and get it. I'll be back soon." She started walking off briskly towards the shop again. As she went, she noticed that the number of people in the streets decreasing. Frankly, she should be home right now. It was late, and the autumn sun had gone down hours ago, and the brisk chill that was carried with the wind kept nipping sharply at her nose. Shivering slightly, Natalia brought her scarf up higher on her face. Her breath left little puffs hanging in the air like mini clouds suspended in the street.

Once she reached the bookstore, Natalia felt around in her deep coat pocket for her keys. She was startled, however, to find her pockets completely empty. Terrified at the prospect of losing her only set of keys, she rummaged through her pockets wildly.

This activity, however, was cut short by a man suddenly grabbing her roughly from behind. Startled, Natalia's breath caught in her throat. "A-Alfred?" she asked with a shaky voice.

The man holding her chuckled. "Who's Alfred, little pretty? Your boyfriend?" His voice had a certain drunken slur to it, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that his intentions were anything but pure.

Natalia clenched her teeth in anger. "No, and neither are you, so unhand me at once." The drunk laughed loudly.

"You got spunk, kid, I'll give you that," he then held his hand up and dangled something inches in front of Natalia's face. "But you should pay more attention to what's going on around you, love."

Natalia looked at the object in the man's hand in shock. Her keys! Her face contorted to a snarl and a small growled escaped her curled lips. "I'm giving you five seconds to let me go. One,"

The man scoffed.

"Two,"

"Yeah, right, like a pretty little thing like you could fight me."

"Three,"

"I hate to break it to you babe, but you're not as strong as you think-"

"Five!"

Natalia elbowed the man in the gut sharply and spun herself around, letting herself free. Doubled over in pain, the man looked at Natalia and growled, "You skipped a number."

Natalia shrugged. "I got impatient." The man roared and ran at Natalia. She dodged him easily by sidestepping at the last moment. "You overestimate yourself, just like every thug anywhere," she cooed at him tauntingly. "I'd push that ego down before it gets you in trouble."

The man charged at her again, but this time Natalia didn't dodge him. She reached swiftly into a hidden pocket inside her coat and withdrew a switchblade knife. At the last moment she flicked it open and stepped slightly to the side and brought the knife down. Natalia could feel it cut deeply into something.

When the man looked up, he had a long, deep gash on the side of his face that was oozing blood. "You little bitch, you'll pay for that!" he roared while reaching a hand subconsciously up towards his wound.

Finally getting the sense to run, Natalia started to take off. She didn't get far at all, however, before she heard heavy, loud footsteps behind her gaining fast. Natalia pushed herself as hard as she could go. If she could get to the police station before he caught her, or perhaps a heavily-populated area-

Her thoughts were cut short by a beefy arm grabbing her around her middle. Surprised, Natalia let out a sharp yelp. The man threw Natalia against the alley wall, knocking the wind out of her. She faltered, but soon enough she had withdrawn her switchblade again and got in a defensive stance. Before she could use it, however, the man grabbed her hand and squeezed hard, causing Natalia to drop her weapon. He pushed her roughly against the brick wall, holding her wrists above her head.

The blade fell to the ground with a sickening clatter, and Natalia's heart sunk. She had no clue how she would get out of this one. She was weaponless, pinned to a wall, and exhausted. Her only hope was if some passerby or else were to walk by and help her at the last moment, and that was about as likely as pigs flying.

Suddenly, though, Natalia got an idea. There was someone who was expecting Natalia to be back by now, and judging by where she was right now, they weren't that far away. So, pushing her moral convictions about asking for help aside, Natalia called out to the only person who may be able to help her in this situation.

"ALFRED!"

"Shut up, bitch!" The man covered Natalia mouth with his hands. This, however, was a bad move on his part, as all it took was Natalia to snap her jaw shut and bite down on the man's hand for her mouth to be free again.

"ALFRED, HELP ME!"

The thug punched Natalia in the stomach and she immediately stopped talking, as the wind had been once again knocked out of her. All she could do was hope that Alfred had heard her shouts for help.

"I told you to keep shut, you little skank!" the man growled at Natalia. Tears threatened to spill from Natalia's eyes, but she held them in. The last thing she wanted was to give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"Natalia?"

Natalia's head perked slightly at the sound of the familiar voice. Alfred! She wanted to call out again, but she knew she should focus on catching her breath, and that anything she said now would come out as a muffled cry.

She saw Alfred round the corner, running with a sense of urgency in his eyes. Were her life not in danger, Natalia may have taken note of how caring he was acting towards someone he barely knew.

Alfred's eyes connected with hers and they widened with shock and desperation. "Natalia?" he yelped, looking from me to the man who had me pinned against the wall. Then his face got vicious, and he looked like an angered animal with talons at the ready to tear you to shreds. Natalia wasn't afraid of him, though, because she knew the glare wasn't directed at her.

"Let her go. NOW." he growled at the thug, his voice low and viperous.

The man only laughed at Alfred and held onto her tighter, his fingers wrapping around her wrists like a snake with it's prey. Natalia felt an involuntary squeak from the back of her throat.

Alfred looked livid with the nerve of this man. No, not livid, he was positively wrathful. He was so infuriated with this man that he wanted nothing less than to tear off his head and use it as a football.

"I don't believe I stuttered, but I'll still repeat myself. Let. Her. Go." He spoke carefully, trying to intimidate the thug.

However, it wasn't working. Natalia's abductor laughed a harsh, course laugh at Alfred. "What do you think you can do, punk? I'm bigger than you, there's no way you could fight me."

Alfred's fists clenched tighter, to the point that his knuckles were white. "Try me, you sick bastard," he spat through clenched teeth. Every muscle in his body was tense, and he looked murderous.

The thug gave another gruff laugh. "Yeah, sure kid. Do yourself a favor: leave and pretend that you didn't see anything before you get hurt. Wouldn't want anything to happen to your pretty-boy face, now would we?" he flashed Alfred a crooked smile that made Natalia shiver slightly.

A muscle in Alfred's lip quivered and the anger in his eyes flared like a cool, blue fire. Then, the fire suddenly diminished, and Alfred hung his head with a heavy sigh. Natalia's blood went cold when she saw him turn on his heel and head in the opposite direction. He was leaving her? Giving up, and leaving her to the mercy of this random street-criminal only to forget completely about her? Would he show any remorse when he saw her show up as missing on the evening news?

Once Alfred had taken a few paces, though, he quickly spun around and firmly planted his fist in the man's face, his knuckles connecting solidly with his nose with a sickening crunch. The man stumbled back in shock and pain, clutching his nose with wide eyes. Thick, red blood squirted out from his fingers grossly, painting his hand a deep crimson.

As soon as the man stepped back, Natalia scrambled away, rubbing her aching wrists, trying to get the blood flowing back into hands. She ran up to Alfred, for once her face showing how terrified she truly was.

The thug looked at Alfred with contempt, his eyes dark with hot anger. "You little shit!" he roared.

Alfred smiled cockily. "What about me?"

"I'll kill you!" he screamed, running towards Alfred and Natalia. Natalia flinched and grabbed a handful of Alfred's leather jacket, but Alfred thrust his fist forward again, this time hitting the man in his gut. He crumpled, and Alfred proceeded to knee him in his face, hitting him square in his forehead. A muffled groan exited the man's lips, and he dropped to the ground. Though he was unconscious, Alfred kicked his side for good measure.

After a moment of silence, Natalia spoke up. "Is he.." she began to ask, but was unable to finish the question.

Alfred shook his head. "No. As much as I would love to kill him right now, I know that I shouldn't. Now matter how much of a low-life scumbag he is, I can't do it." He then turned and smiled at Natalia slightly. "You could say that it's against my moral-code."

Natalia simply nodded, her eyes still wide with fear. Alfred reached a hand out and touched her cheek lightly. She nearly flinched away, but she firmly reminded herself that Alfred wasn't a danger to her.

"Hey, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked, his voice rich with concern. Natalia looked up into his deep, ocean-blue eyes and shook her head.

"N-no. I'm just shaken up a bit," she answered truthfully.

Alfred nodded. "That's good. Did he take anything from you?"

Natalia started to shake her head, but quickly nodded after thinking for a moment. "Yes," she blurted quickly. "My keys."

Alfred nodded again and bent over the unconscious man, looking through his pockets. Natalia heard a soft metallic jingle, and Alfred came up again, this time holding Natalia's keys in his gloved hand. "Here you go," he said as he dropped them in Natalia's hand. She clutched their cool, metal surface in order to try to get her hands to stop shaking.

"We should probably leave before this asshole wakes up, okay?" Alfred said, glancing at Natalia. She nodded and got up on shaky legs. She almost fell, but Alfred steadied her at the last moment. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Natalia said, shrugging out of his arms. "I'm just in shock, and you would be too, if that had happened to you!" she snapped.

Alfred smiled slightly. "There's the Natalia I know!" Natalia rolled her eyes. Idiot.

They walked the rest of the way to Natalia's apartment in silence, neither one speaking to the other, as they were both playing the recent events of the night over and over in their head. Mostly what Natalia thought about though, wasn't about the fear she had felt when the thug had her pinned against the wall, but instead how safe and protected she had felt when Alfred had rushed in to save her. What did that mean? Why did she feel like nothing bad could touch her as long as she was by Alfred's side?

When they reached the apartment, Alfred knocked on the door. Almost instantly the door opened with such a quick swing, it was amazing that the hinges held true. "Natalia? Natalia is that you?" a tall Russian man shouted frantically as he scrambled into the door frame. He scanned the hallway quickly, and he calmed when he saw Natalia standing there.

Without question, he embraced her in a big bear-hug that nearly knocked all of the wind out of her lungs. "You had me so worried, малютка!" I thought something had happened to you!"

"I-I'm fine, Ivan! Please, let go of me, you're going to break me in half!" Natalia wheezed. Ivan let go with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, Natalia, we've just been so worried about you, since you didn't come home when you normally do. We thought that you might have run into some trouble!"

Natalia hung her head slightly. "Well...there was a bit of an incident, but Alfred helped me." She jerked her thumb at Alfred, who Ivan now turned his attention to.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering who you were. You kept my sister out late, da? If you plan on doing that, you must also plan on marrying her," he said with a smile.

Alfred eyes widened to point where they seemed like they would fall out of their sockets. "W-what?!"

"Big brother, that is not funny!" Natalia shouted at Ivan, punching him lightly on the arm. Ivan only chuckled.

"Yes, it was funny!" He turned once again to Alfred. "You should have seen the look on your face, it was hilarious!"

Alfred coughed awkwardly. "Um...yeah, I'm sure it was..."

"Well, come on in," Ivan said, stepping aside to give Alfred room to enter the apartment. "I want to know what Natalia meant when she said that there was 'a bit of an incident.'"

After Alfred an Natalia had explained to Ivan what had happened earlier, Ivan thanked Alfred for protecting his little sister. "I'm so glad someone could protect her from that brute. If my little sister was hurt, I don't know what I would do. Thank you, Alfred."

Alfred nodded sheepishly, and glanced down at his arm. Clinging to it was Natalia's older sister, Yakaterina, and she was sobbing uncontrollably while muttering a stream of 'thank you's and 'God bless you's. Frankly she was not only getting Alfred's sleeve wet with her continuous tears, but also creeping him out. Frankly, Natalia's older brother gave him chills for some reason, too.

Natalia stood up from her brother's side abruptly, and looked at Alfred with stony eyes. "Well, I think it's time for Alfred to get home. I'll walk you to the door."

Slightly confused, Alfred shook Yakaterina off of his arm and stood up, walking over to the door with Natalia. Once they reached the door, Natalia turned to Alfred.

"I never thanked you for saving me. So, thank you, I guess." she said, looking down at her boots. "And I just wanted you to know that if you feel like walking me home any time again, I guess I can put up with you."

Alfred laughed at her offer. "You guess you can put up with me?" he questioned.

Natalia smirked. "Yes. Your mouth is always running, and it's infuriating. However, I suppose I can tune you out."

Smiling, Alfred nodded. "I suppose I can join you for a nightly walk every once Ina while, if you'll have me."

Natalia nodded, too. "Thank you." Though her eyes were usually expressionless, Alfred could see that Natalia was still shaken about the attack, and she was asking Alfred to accompany her so she could guarantee security. He could also see the tears that were starting to form in the corners of said eyes.

Alfred stepped forward and hugged Natalia tightly. At first she stiffened, surprised by the action, but then she relaxed and hugged him back. This close, she could detect Alfred's distinct aroma that smelled like a mix of nice cologne and a whiff of a hometown diner. For some reason it was oddly comforting to Natalia. She sniffed back the tears that threatened to spill.

"Hey, if you need me, I can walk with you every night, okay? There's no need to be afraid, you're a strong girl! It looked like you roughed that guy up pretty badly all by yourself before I got there!" He then pulled away and looked down at Natalia. "Does your brother even know that you carry a knife?" he asked with a slight smirk.

Natalia shook he head. "He'd be worried sick if he did." she said with a small smile inching its way onto her lips. "Thank you, again."

Alfred hugged her close and then kissed her on the forehead. "It's no problem at all. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Natalia returned the hug and smiled at him as she opened the door. "See you tomorrow night." she returned as he exited the apartment.

After he had left, Natalia sat and stared at the door, thinking. Alfred had rescued her, and had offered to protect her whenever she needed him, like a gentleman. Vaguely, Natalia wondered if she had finally found her storybook-hero.

**малютка = "little one" If that's incorrect, blame Google Translate.**

**HOLY SHIT, I'M FINALLY DONE! You have no idea how long this took me. This also turned put about three times as long as I originally planned it. I got major writer's block around the fight-scene, so sorry if it sucks. I just am so bad at writing action. =_=**

**By the way, Meghan, I know that isn't the kiss you were hoping for at the end, but TOO BAD. Natalia just nearly got raped and was saved by a guy who she barely knew, I don't think she'd be in the mood for passionate kissing.**


	2. Epilogue

**I decided to write an epilogue for this story. I was in an AmeBel shipping mood, and I wrote this to add on to the story and explain what happened to Alfred and Natalia after the original oneshot. Because feels.**

Natalia once again sat at her desk at the back of the bookstore, this time reading one of the many novels there were to choose from in the romance section the store had. As she lifted her finger to turn the page, she heard a distinct crash near the other end of the store. She let out an exasperated sigh, then called out, "Alfred, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Alfred insisted, poking his head out from the many shelves. "I was just minding my own business when a whole lot of books came and jumped out at me!"

It took all of Natalia's will power not to bang her head on the desk. "Just put back whatever you messed up," she responded, turning back to her book. When she looked up again, the clock read 8:55. The store closed an hour early on weekdays, which mean it was almost time for her to close up shop already.

"Alfred, are you almost ready to go?" She asked, shutting her book and walking over to where he was when she last heard from him. "Oh, wow..." was her only response when she saw Alfred sitting on the floor, literally surrounded by books of all shapes, sizes, and genres that were scattered about the floor haphazardly.

Alfred looked up at Natalia sheepishly. "Oh, hey there, Nat."

"What on earth is this mess?" Natalia exclaimed, gesturing to the book piles of the carpet.

"Um, I was helping to rearrange the books like you told me to, but then some books fell off of the shelf, and when I tried to put them back, more books fell off, and now I'm trying to figure out how they were originally arranged." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Natalia didn't know whether she should laugh or scream.

She really appreciated Alfred walking her home every night, and she accepted Alfred's offer to help out in the shop whenever he could. However, she was usually the one cleaning up whatever mess he made, and he visited her during hours often, so she had to clean up after him a lot.

Natalia sat down next to Alfred and picked up a handful of books. "I'll help you clean up this mess, and then I have to close up shop." she said as she shuffled the books into the right order.

After practically reorganizing all of the books in the store, Natalia and Alfred stepped out of the warm comfort that the bookstore provided and into the harsh cold of the street. Natalia locked the door behind her and set off with Alfred. He wrapped his arm around Natalia's shoulders, and she walked closer to him in response. Even though it was a small gesture, Natalia fought to keep the smile off of her face.

Natalia and Alfred had started dating a month after he started walking her home from work, and it had now been about five weeks since they started going out. Though she didn't like to show it, Natalia was over the moon about it.

"Hey, do you want to grab a bite to eat before we go back to your place?" Alfred asked, looking down at Natalia. She shrugged.

"Depends. What sort of food would you want?" she asked lazily.

Alfred smirked. "Well, I could always go for some Mickey-D's," Natalia grimaced visibly "But I know you don't like McDonald's, so I was thinking maybe the diner just two blocks from here? I've heard that they have really good ice cream!"

Natalia gave Alfred a skeptical look. "Ice cream at this hour?" she asked. Alfred chuckled.

"Ice cream is good at any hour!" he defended himself. Despite her many efforts not to, Natalia smiled slightly.

"Okay, let's go."

Natalia gratefully accepted the vanilla soft serve cone that that Alfred was holding out to her. He sat down at their booth with his own large sundae. Something Natalia had learned fairly quickly about Alfred was that he was a bottomless pit when it came to food, and was somehow always hungry.

Natalia took a small, dainty lick of her ice cream, and shivered slightly at how cold it was. Alfred smiled at her, and Natalia figured that he must have thought her actions were "cute." Idiot.

"So, was the ice-cream run a good idea?" he asked, taking a bite of his own frozen treat.

Natalia rested her head on her hand that wasn't holding an ice cream cone and thought. "Since it's winter, it would have been more sensible to get some hot food to warm us up," she began, and paused to take another bite of her ice cream. "However, the ice cream does taste good, so I'd say in the long run it was a good idea." She offered Alfred one of her rare smiles, and it made the young man beam happily.

Something Natalia liked about her and Alfred's relationship was that they never planned any dates. Nearly every single outing the two went on was a spontaneous thing that neither had originally accounted for. It kept things from getting mundane and uninteresting.

Alfred smirked cockily at Natalia. "You know, if the ice cream is making you cold, we could warm each other up..." Natalia reached across the table and flicked Alfred's forehead with her index finger.

"Behave!" she chastised him. Alfred simply laughed. Eventually, despite her better judgment, Natalia started laughing too.

Before meeting Alfred, Natalia almost never laughed, smiled, or showed any emotion, really. That was one more thing she could credit him with. Not only had he saved her life, but he also made her life more interesting, and gave her a reason to show emotion. Even though he was loud, oblivious, and borderline annoying, Alfred gave Natalia a reason to smile.

Alfred was Natalia's reason to smile.

**If I get any more ideas for these two, I might update this, but for now I'm leaving it at two chapters. Unless any of you guys have any ideas! If you have any suggestions on what to write about in this fic, don't hesitate to tell me! )**


	3. Oneshot - Movie Night

**So my dear friend Invader Riyo gave me an idea for another oneshot with these two. So, without further ado, more AmeBel.**

Natalia sat curled up on a leather couch in Alfred's living room. The normally tastefully-dressed girl was currently sporting sweatpants and an over-sized T-shirt. Alfred stepped up and sat down right next to her, then held up a DVD case.

"You sure you want to watch this?" he asked. Natalia rolled her eyes.

"Alfred, it's just a horror movie. All it is, is movie-industry clichés and bad special effects. I'm more than sure that I can handle it." She plucked the case out of Alfred's hands and stepped up to the DVD-player to put the disk in. Then she walked back to the couch and curled up next to Alfred again.

Alfred laughed. "Okay, if you're sure. I just didn't want to be the guy who scared his girlfriend without giving her a fair warning."

Natalia lightly punched Alfred's shoulder. Somehow, though, she had the feeling that Alfred would be more scared of the movie than she would be, by the way he kept carrying on about it. It seemed as if he subconsciously wanted Natalia to be afraid and ask not to watch it.

About half an hour later, Natalia learned that her hypothesis had been right.

Alfred was curled up in a ball as close as he could get to Natalia, clinging to her arm with white knuckles and hiding his face in her neck. He was shivering like a terrified puppy and whimpering like one, too.

"Pft, this movie is so fake," Natalia scoffed, trying her best to soothe the cowering boy who was by now practically on her lap. "I mean, that chainsaw-killer has been very quick and sloppy with his work - surely the cops would have found some evidence left behind and tracked him down to apprehend him by now. Plus, corpses don't look anything like that when they rot, so those zombies are totally inaccurate. Instead, the flesh should look like-"

"NOT HELPING, NATALIA!" Alfred whimpered. Natalia frowned, disappointed that her words had done nothing to calm him.

"Sorry. Do you want to shut off the movie-?"

"NO WAY! I'm Alfred the Hero, I can handle one little movie!" Natalia wasn't even able to finish her question before Alfred had interrupted her, sitting up straight and removing his head from the crook of Natalia's neck, dawning a cocky smile.

Then a monster in the movie growled, and Alfred immediately collapsed into Natalia and was once again reduced to a terrified little boy.

"Man, that movie wasn't even scary! I was so bored I nearly fell asleep!" Alfred said, flipping a switch on the wall to turn the living room lights back on. When he looked back at the couch, he found Natalia giving him an irritated glare. "What?"

"Next time, I choose the movie!" she snapped, picking up a nearby pillow and lightly tossing it at Alfred's head.

"Ow! What did I do to deserve that?"

**Yes, I know this was painfully short and you all probably want to kill me right now, BUT, listen!**

**I am taking this story off of its "Completed" status for now, because I have a Christmas chapter planned, and a chapter before that planned. After that, we'll see if I get any ideas.**


	4. Big Decisions

"Natalia, we need to talk."

Natalia looked up from the TV to her brother. "About what?" she asked with a vacant expression. She really wasn't paying him much attention, focusing more on the TV at the current moment. This caused Ivan to shut it off, earning him an annoyed glare from his little sister.

"Yakaterina and I were thinking, and we've decided that we'd both like to continue our studies." he said, his face full of concern and a little bit of something else. Fear, perhaps?

"Good for you, I guess," Natalia responded dully. "Can I turn the TV back on, now?"

Ivan sighed heavily. "No, that's not all." Natalia raised an eyebrow skeptically. "We want to continue our studies...back home. Yakaterina and I want to go back to Russia."

Immediately Natalia's mind came to a screeching halt. Going back home to Russia? Her immediate knee-jerk reaction was joy, as she'd been waiting to go back home ever since they moved to America. But then again, something stopped her from being happy about this news. She was starting to finally feel at home here, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to give up that happiness. "Oh," was all she managed to say.

Ivan sighed again. "I understand that you may not want to go back at the moment, so your sister and I talked, and we thought that maybe, if you want, you can stay here by yourself and we would leave."

Once again, Natalia was taken aback. "St-stay here without you two?" she choked out. Ivan nodded.

"You let us know when you make a decision," he said before turning and leaving the room.

Natalia stared ahead and thought, concentrating on the black, powerless screen of the TV. Did she want to leave and go back to her home country? Or did she want to stay here where she'd just started to make a life for herself? One option dictated her leaving her brother and sister, who'd been her sole support system for her entire life, but other had her leaving Alfred, who was the reason for her current happiness.

Natalia didn't think she liked either option.

Natalia stared at the clock on the wall near her desk, not really paying attention to anything around her, instead lost in her thoughts. She still hadn't told her brother and sister her decision, and she needed to fast. She also needed to make a decision, for that matter.

"Yo, Nat, is anyone home? Earth to Natalia!"

Natalia snapped out of her gaze, startled. "Huh?" she asked. Alfred, who was standing in front of the desk holding a box under his arm, shook his head.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes! Do you think you can give me a hand with these?" He motioned to the boxes at his feet, which were identical to the one currently under his arm.

"Wouldn't it have been quicker if you had made several trips instead of spending five minutes trying to get my attention?" she grumbled, stooping to pick up one of the boxes.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"Not for sale," she responded. Alfred pouted, but dropped the subject, something that Natalia appreciated. After several trips, all the boxes had been moved to the storage room, and Natalia was able to rest again at her desk.

"Hey, I'm going to go on a coffee-run, do you want anything?" Alfred asked once she had sat down.

She nodded. "Caramel cappuccino with cream."

Alfred put on the bomber jacket that he was so fond of and shot her a smile. "Be back soon!" he shouted back at her. Natalia offered him a slight smile, and he brightened noticeably as he walked out the door.

Once he left, Natalia put her head in her hands and sighed heavily. Why was this being so difficult?! She wished she could just freeze time and never have to come up with an answer. She was happy with the way things where now, why did they have to change?

Natalia was locking the door to the shop, with her back turned to the street. Alfred stood behind her, waiting to walk her home, just like he did every night she worked. Natalia grimaced inwardly at this thought. She didn't deserve him. Here he was, loyal and doting as he always was, and she was trying to decide whether or not to leave him. This gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she felt like a horrible person.

"Oi! Alfred!"

Natalia snapped out of her self-pity-fest and turned around to the voice. It had come from a boy with straw-blonde hair and green eyes that were accented by prominent eyebrows.

Alfred turned around also, and smiled at the boy. "Oh, hey, Artie, what's up?"

The boy walked up to Alfred. "I was hoping to run into you. You borrowed my Doctor Who DVDs, remember?"

Alfred nodded. "Yeah, dude, I remember! What about them?"

"Well, I was hoping to watch them with Kiku tonight, but then I remembered that you still have them. I was hoping I could run by your place and grab them real quickly."

"Yeah, sure you can, dude!" He then motioned to Natalia. "I've just got to run Natalia home, first."

Natalia looked up at Alfred. "I'm sure I can be a little late, we can run by your place before dropping me off," she said. The boy looked like he was in a hurry, and from the sound of it he had someone who was waiting on him, too.

Alfred shrugged. "Okay. By the way," he motioned to the boy, "Natalia, this is my buddy, Arthur, and Arthur," he now motioned to Natalia, "this is my girlfriend, Natalia."

Arthur extended his hand, and Natalia reluctantly took it. "Hello, Natalia, how are you tonight?" he asked while shaking her hand.

"I'm fine, thank you." Natalia released his hand and returned it to her side, only to decide to cross her arms over her chest a moment later.

Arthur nodded. "Good." He then paused to chuckle lightly. "You have to forgive me, but I'm a little surprised that you're real. When Alfred told me that he had a stunningly beautiful girlfriend, I half thought him to be joking." He smirked at Natalia. "Nice to know you're not imaginary."

Natalia blushed lightly. Had Alfred really called her "stunningly beautiful?" "Thank you, I guess..." she said, diverting her gaze from both boys. Suddenly the black flats she was wearing on her feet were incredibly interesting. "Shouldn't we head over to Alfred's place, now?"

"Yes, I really am in a hurry, and as much as I'd like to chat, I have to get back, soon. Kiku's waiting on me." Arthur said, looking to Alfred. Alfred shrugged.

"Alright, let's go, then."

Soon all three of them were at Alfred's house, waiting for him to unlock the door to let them in. However, it seemed like it may be a while, at the rate he was going. He was fumbling with his keys, and he kept dropping them on accident, too.

"Alright, so that's not the right key, and that's not the right key, so that means- oh, shit! Not again!"

Arthur's patience was obviously running thinner than paper, and eventually he snapped. "Do you need help or anything?" he asked Alfred forcefully.

Alfred shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine! I just can't remember which key opens the house is all. Plus I keep dropping them because my hands are super cold!"

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to contain himself. "That's because you have no gloves on, you imbecile!"

"I'll get it," Natalia interjected, stepping in front of the boys and snatching the keys out if Alfred's hands. "I'll just try every key until I get the one that fits." Two minutes later the group of three had finally entered the house.

"Alright, I'll go grab the DVDs." Alfred told Arthur. "They're in the living room with all of my DVDs. Or...actually, they might be in the REC room...you know, looking back, I think they could be in my room..." Alfred looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "Oh well, I'll get them. Just hold up a sec. Talk to Nat in the meantime, or something." And with that he left Natalia and Arthur standing at the foyer awkwardly.

After about thirty seconds of silence, Arthur spoke up. "So, how are things?" he asked awkwardly, glancing from Natalia, to his shoes, to the door, and back to Natalia again.

"Things are...fine. Stressful, but fine." she responded just as awkwardly.

"Oh, that's good," Arthur commented. "Erm, the 'fine' bit, not the stress." He then took a deep breath and looked Natalia in the eye. "You know, I must say that you've done wonders on Alfred. His attitude has improved so much since he's met you."

Natalia raised an eyebrow at this comment. "What on earth do you mean? He's been like this for as long as I've known him." Arthur blinked, surprised.

"You mean, you don't know?" he asked confusedly.

"Know what?" Natalia asked, her eyes narrowing. Was Alfred hiding something from her?

Arthur sighed and hung his head slightly. "About a year ago, Alfred's parents died in a car accident. He was inconsolable, and for about a month he locked himself in his room and wouldn't talk to anyone. His brother and I eventually got him out, but he wasn't the same cheery person he used to be. In fact, he was downright depressed. I didn't think he'd ever start acting like his old self again, but I suppose you've been some sort of a light in his life." Arthur looked up and Natalia and smiled slightly. "So for that I thank you. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it, because I haven't seen him this happy since the accident."

"...Oh," was all Natalia could say. She wasn't sure how she should respond to the information she'd just been given. She'd never heard of Alfred's parent's deaths, nor about his period of depression afterwards. She also had no idea that she had made such an impact on him. "I...I didn't know."

"I FOUND THEM!" Alfred shouted, coming into view. He was waving a DVD box-set in the air above his head. "They were next to the fish tank!"

Arthur frowned at his friend. "And what on earth were they doing there?! I though you said you'd take care of them!"

Alfred ruffled Arthur's hair, much to the latter's annoyance. "Dude, chill out! I said by the fish tank, not in it!"

Arthur grumbled some swears as he snatched his DVDs out of Alfred's hands. "Whatever. I'll see you two some other time. Until then, goodbye."

"Bye Artie!" Alfred called out to his friend as he left. Once the door shut, he turned to Natalia. "Well, I guess we should get you home, now. Your brother might just kill me since you'll be late."

"He wouldn't kill you," she said, but she nodded in agreement anyways. Alfred opened the door and put his arm around her shoulders. Suddenly, Natalia felt the need to say something. "Um, Alfred?"

Alfred looked down at Natalia and smiled. "What, Nat?"

Natalia wanted to tell him that she was sorry for his parents' deaths, tell him that he meant a lot to her, too, and that she never wanted him to be sad again. However, she couldn't find the words, so instead she said, "It's cold out, you should wear a coat."

The next morning Natalia had come to the book store early and alone. Alfred had been apprehensive about letting Natalia walk by herself, as well as Ivan, but she had eventually convinced both boys that she was fine, and that Alfred was still going to walk her home like normal. Right now, though, she had work to do.

She was pouring over a number of "for sale" and "for rent" adds from the newspaper. She had decided to stay, because after her talk with Arthur, Natalia had realized that Alfred needed her there for him. She couldn't just leave him when she was what had made him act like his old self again!

So here she was, sitting on a comfy chair in the corner of the store and practically buried in newspapers. So far she'd had no luck finding a place to live at that was both satisfactory for living in and affordable. Every time she thought she saw a house or apartment that was livable in, the price was outrageous, and every time she saw a place that was cheap enough for her price range, it was a dump. Her brother had promised to give her some money to help her move, but frankly Natalia didn't want to have to use any charity money, even if it was from her own brother.

Natalia was so invested in her search that she didn't notice someone enter the store and walk up to her.

"Hey, Nat! What're you doing?"

Natalia nearly jumped out of her skin, surprised that Alfred had been able to sneak up on her like that. He was usually too loud to do that.

"Alfred, don't sneak up on me like that!" she exclaimed, throwing her Sharpie marker at her boyfriend's head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed at the marker hit its target. "Okay, I'm sorry! Seriously, though, what are you doing?"

Natalia's throat suddenly felt very tight. She wasn't sure why, but she felt very apprehensive about yelling Alfred that she was moving. Even if she was staying in the same city.

"Um, well, I...I'm..." She took a deep breath and pulled herself together. What on earth was she afraid of? "I'm looking for a new place to move to. My brother and sister are moving back to Russia, but I'm staying here, and since our apartment is too expensive to afford in just my salary, I need to find a new one."

Alfred looked surprised. "Your brother and sister are going back to Russia?" he asked. Natalia nodded.

"Yes, to continue their studies in a place they are more comfortable in," she answered. Alfred now looked pensive.

"Why are you staying, then?" he asked.

Natalia's breath caught in her throat. Ah, yes, this question was why she's been afraid. She wasn't sure how to respond to it. "Uh, I'm staying because...because I've just started to feel at home here," she finally spit out. Oh well, it was better than nothing.

"Oh, is that so?" Alfred asked. Natalia could sweat that the boy looked slightly disappointed. Had he wanted Natalia to say she was staying for him? "How's the search going?" He peered over Natalia's shoulder at the many newspapers that were scattered about.

Natalia took a deep breath, glad that they'd changed the subject. "Horrible! I can't find a single place that is affordable that isn't a rat's nest!" She put her chin in her right palm and rested her arm on the arm of the chair. "I'm starting to think I will need to use my brother's money, after all!"

Alfred looked at Natalia sympathetically. He hated seeing her distressed like this. "You know, I have an idea about where you can stay..." he said.

Natalia perked up slightly. "Where?" she asked.

Alfred cast his eyes down, and his face was getting hotter by the second. "Y-you don't have to agree, of course, but..." he looked up sheepishly. "Would you consider maybe moving in with me? I mean, I have plenty of room, and a spare bedroom you can use and everything. Plus, then you wouldn't need to use your own money on a new place."

Natalia just stared at Alfred, unsure of what to say. They'd only been dating for two months or so, was it really proper for her to move in with him? Then again, did she have very much of a choice? She couldn't afford any of the apartments she had looked at in the paper.

"You don't have if you don't want to! In fact, thinking back now, that was a stupid idea, just forget it! I don't know what I was thinking of, we've only been dating for about two months, I mean-"

"Okay."

Alfred stopped talking immediately and stared at Natalia. "What?"

Natalia shrugged. "I said okay. I'll

Move in with you."

Alfred smiled a bit, but his face was mostly a mask of pure shock. "R-really?"

Natalia rolled her eyes and balled up the newspaper she been holding, just to throw it at Alfred. "Yes, really. You should know by now that I don't joke often."

Alfred laughed at batted away the newspaper wad. "Awesome!"

Natalia then smirked devilishly, though. "Yes, I'll move in with you...but YOU have to be the one to tell my brother."

Alfred immediately stopped smiling, his grin replaced by a look of pure terror. Oh shit.

**Bonus points to whoever can spot the subliminal AsaKiku. I honestly don't even ship AsaKiku (it's one of those ships I'm neutral on), but I wasn't sure who to ship Arthur with, since it obviously wasn't going to be my first choice for him (Alfred), and I dislike FrUK. Since I see a fair amount of AsaKiku on my Tumblr, I decided to go with Kiku. Because reasons.**

**Also, I greatly apologize for the wait, but I had major writer's block for this chapter! I honestly just finished it this morning. Because of this, I don't think I'll have the Christmas episode up by actual Christmas. Sorry. :(**


	5. (Late) Christmas Special

**Words cannot express how sorry I am for the wait on this chapter, but I got writer's block like crazy at the end, and I just felt like I hit a wall. Hopefully this is worth the wait.**

**Also I want to thank all of the people who sent wonderful reviews for this story! I literally do a little dance when I see that I have a new review. (Dear Lord I'm a dork.)**

Natalia's eyelids drooped and her head lulled to the side, resting on Alfred's shoulder. She felt sleep tugging at her subconscious, and it didn't take long for her to give in. Not ten seconds after she drifted off, though, she startled herself awake and took a sip of coffee from the travel mug that had been resting on the ground near her feet. She needed to stay awake.

Alfred turned his head and looked at her. "You gonna fall sleep on me?" he asked with a smile. Natalia shook her head, her mouth full of coffee so she couldn't answer. "Good, cause I don't want to have to drag your unconscious body through the mall. That would slow us down, and we wouldn't be able to get as many sweet deals!"

Natalia, in response to Alfred's smart-ass answer, punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Kidding! I was kidding!" he said defensively, raising his hands up in surrender. Natalia rolled her eyes.

"You're taking this thing too seriously." she stated simply. Waiting in line for hours in the cold just to shop at a God-forsaken time? Ridiculous.

"You really have never been Black Friday shopping, huh?" Alfred asked, cocking his head to one side as he looked at Natalia. She shook her head.

"Never, and for good reason. This," she gestured to the many people who were waiting outside the mall with them, "is ridiculous. I can't believe you dragged me with you."

Alfred smiled and nudged her slightly. "I used my charm; no one can resist my charm!" Natalia raised her fist threateningly. "Hey! Calm down! Joking again, okay?" He placed his arm around Natalia's shoulders and pulled her closer. "Plus, I bet you'll change your mind by the time we're done. No one forgets their first time Black Friday shopping!"

Natalia leaned against Alfred's car, weighed down by bags upon bags of sale-items. "That was a hell-hole!" she shouted.

Alfred laughed. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad!"

Natalia gave Alfred a disbelieving look. "'Wasn't that bad'?! I was knocked around by complete strangers, practically trampled over, and at one point shoved into a whole other section of the mall than you! I had to ask a woman at the security office to call your name over the mall's intercom, remember?!"

Alfred's smile dampened a little. "Um, yeah, sorry that I couldn't hear my phone...You didn't have fun at any point in the night?"

Natalia looked Alfred square in the eye. "No. It was one of the worst experiences of my life! Now, Alfred, I'm tired, and just want to go home!"

Alfred flinched visibly at Natalia's scolding. If she weren't so tired and pissed, Natalia might have felt bad.

"Okay, I get it. Not everyone's built for Black Friday. We'll head home, now." He opened up the car door and stepped inside. Natalia did the same.

"Thank you," she huffed. Then she turned to Alfred. "Frankly, I don't know how you still have so much energy! You've been up literally all night and morning!"

Alfred smirked as he put the key in the ignition. "Staying up all night is easy! I just drank, like, fifty cups of coffee!"

About a month or so later it was Christmas Eve, and Alfred and Natalia were sitting around and watching Christmas movies, while eating the popcorn out of one of those big holiday tins. Right now they were watching Elf.

"This movie is stupid," Natalia said, grabbing a handful of caramel corn out of the tin.

Alfred laughed. "Yeah, but that's what makes it funny! It's so stupid it's funny!" He pulled out a handful of cheddar popcorn and threw a piece of it into the air, only to catch it in his mouth. After his little trick, he smirked at Natalia proudly.

Natalia rolled her eyes. "You are an overgrown child."

Alfred laughed at her comment. "Yea, but you love me for it!" he said, hugging Natalia closer to him. Natalia smirked and played with his hair, trying to get his one stubborn cowlick to stay down.

"Yes, I do, and I question my sanity every day because of it."

Alfred's breath got stuck in his throat and his eyes widened slightly. "Natalia, did you just say that you love me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Natalia, just now realizing what she had said, also widened her eyes. "I...I guess I did."

After a moment if shocked silence, Alfred leaned forward slowly and cupped Natalia's chin in his hand, tilting her head slightly up. He then kissed her softly, his lips barely touching Natalia's. Natalia's was too surprised to do anything at first, but the shock quickly wore off, and soon enough she was kissing Alfred back just as softly. When they parted, she whispered, "I love you, Alfred Jones."

Alfred smiled, and whispered, "And I love you, Natalia Arlovskaya."

That night Natalia and Alfred had fallen asleep on the couch, cuddled together so that Natalia was resting her head on Alfred's chest. She awoke in the morning to find the TV still on and the DVD menu for the movie still going on repeat. Frankly, Natalia was still tired, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, so she snuggled up closer to Alfred and closed her eyes. She only lasted five minutes though before the music coming from the TV annoyed her so much that she had to get up to turn it off. By getting up she woke Alfred, who mumbled a tired "Good morning."

"Good morning," she responded, removing the DVD from the tray. "And merry Christmas."

Alfred smiled as he sat up so that he was no longer lying down. "Oh, yea, that's right, it is Christmas! Merry Christmas, Natalia!"

He got up off of the couch and crossed over into the kitchen. "I'm going to make pancakes for breakfast, do you want any coffee to go along with them?" he asked from the other room.

Natalia shrugged slightly, although Alfred couldn't see her. "Sure, if you're making some."

A few minutes later Natalia and Alfred sat on high stools at the island bar that stood in the middle of the kitchen. It was smaller than the table, and more practical to use for just two people. In front of them was a big stack of pancakes sitting on a plate precariously, standing so tall that it seemed likely that they would topple over, and a bottle of maple syrup sitting right next to the plate.

While they were eating their breakfast, Alfred had popped a Christmas CD into the player for them to listen to. Natalia raised an eyebrow at his choice. "The Charlie Brown Christmas album?" she questioned. Alfred laughed.

"What? It's a classic! I used to listen to it every Christmas when I was a kid!" he defended himself.

Natalia shrugged. "I don't know, I just sort of pegged you as being the kind of guy who would listen to more new-age Christmas songs."

Alfred smirked. "Well, I do have a couple of CDs like that, but I also appreciate the old stuff, too. I'm pretty sentimental, actually."

Natalia offered him one of her small smiles. "That's good. People should be somewhat sentimental in life. Otherwise, we'd have nothing to remind us of the past."

Alfred nodded a bit before his face lit up suddenly. "I have to give you your Christmas present!" he exclaimed before pushing himself up out of his chair and tearing out of the kitchen.

Natalia was surprised by his sudden outburst, but she quickly recovered to ask, "Where are you going?"

"To the closet I hid your present in!" Alfred shouted from another part of the house. About 45 seconds later he was back in the kitchen, holding a box out to Natalia. "Merry Christmas, Nat," he said.

The box was wrapped prettily in an indigo paper with a pure white satin bow tied around it. The edges were crisp, and it looked like a lot of effort had gone into the wrapping of the gift.

"Did you wrap this yourself?" she asked.

Alfred smiled meekly. "Yeah...I was in the store when I saw that color of wrapping paper, and I bought it to wrap your gift in because it reminded me if your eyes. By the way, we have nearly a whole roll of that we have to use, now."

Natalia blinked in surprise at Alfred's comment. "You really bought this paper because it's color reminded you of my eyes?" she questioned, looking up at him.

Alfred nodded slightly. "Yep! Do you like it?"

Natalia nodded, but commented, "You didn't have to do that. It's just going to get ripped up, anyways."

Alfred laughed lightly. "Don't tell me how I can and can't spoil you! Now, are you going to stand there admiring the box, or are you going to open it?" Natalia rolled her eyes at Alfred and flicked his forehead before starting to rip the paper off of the box.

When she had finally gotten the box open (Alfred had used an inhuman amount of tape, and she ended up having to use her pocket knife*) she was met with a brand new, hard-cover copy of Pride and Prejudice. At first Natalia was unsure as to why Alfred bought her a book for Christmas when she worked in a bookstore, but soon after the confusion came a flood of memories. Memories of an air-headed blonde boy entering the shop and pestering her one day a few months back. Of that same boy walking her home and saving her life. And a memory of that boy needing help finding a copy of Pride and Prejudice.

Natalia's breath caught in her throat and she was suddenly lost for words. "Oh, Alfred..." she began, but she didn't know how to finish her sentence. The thoughtfulness of this gift was overwhelming to her, as Natalia wasn't used to people paying her this much mind, even her brother and sister.

Alfred smiled sweetly at Natalia, and he tucked a tuft of her hair behind her ear lovingly. "I take it you like it?" he asked.

Natalia looked up at him, her eyes seemingly sparkling with unshed tears that threatened to stain her cheeks. "I love it!" she said, and then she embraced Alfred tightly, book still in her hand. "It's the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me!"

Alfred happily returned the hug, as it wasn't every day that Natalia willingly initiated contact. "I'm glad you like it," he said running his fingers through Natalia's platinum-colored hair. "Merry Christmas, Natalia."

"Merry Christmas, Alfred." Natalia sighed, resting her head on Alfred's shoulder comfortably. She wished that this moment would never end.

***I don't know about you guys, but we always have to have a pocket knife on-hand when opening Christmas presents for exactly this reason.**

**HOLY MOTHERFUCKIN' SHIT. That love confession came out of NO WHERE. I did not plan on writing that. It just sort of happened.**

**I don't like the end. It feels rushed, and OOC, and just...ugh. But I wrote it up this morning on the bus when I was only about half-awake, so...whatch'ya gonna do? I just hated how long this chapter was taking me, and I had no idea how to end it. I'd had the gift planned for a while, but I had no clue how to have Natalia react to it. *sigh* Oh well, they say that you are your worst critic, so I hope in this case that's true.**

*****So as far as ideas go I think I might have one, but the reservoir isn't very full, so if anyone has any ideas for this fic I'm all ears!*****

**Also I'm going to be writing another fic that's an AmeBel Ghost Whisperer AU, but for reasons to be explained it will only be updated once a month. So keep your eyes peeled for that!**

**((I'm dead-fucking serious, though, if you have ideas please put them in a review of a PM or something.))**


	6. Let's Get a Pet!

**I LIVEEEEEE!**

"We should get like a dog or something."

The sudden comment caught Natalia off guard and she nearly choked on her breakfast, which consisted of cinnamon oatmeal and toast. "Excuse me?" she asked the person who had spoken up, which was Alfred.

"Yeah, I think we should get some sort of pet, like a dog or a cat. How cool would that be? To have a little furry buddy around here?" he said as he glanced excitedly at Natalia. "What do ya think?"

Natalia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think you'd play with it for an hour, get bored, and then leave all the responsibilities to me," she said with a sense of finality.

Alfred pouted. "I would not! I'd take care of it! I'd walk it every morning and play fetch with it and-"

"And clean up its messes? And train it? And pay for its vet bills?" Natalia finished for him. Alfred faltered.

"Uh-"

"Face it, you aren't ready for the responsibilities of a pet, Alfred, and I'm too busy at the book store to take them on myself." Natalia signaled that the conversation was done by taking a slightly aggressive bite of toast and casting her eyes back down to the morning paper.

...

"What about a hamster?"

"Alfred!"

A few days later Alfred came home from the super market laden with grocery bags. He'd been determined to not make more than one trip, so he had loaded both of his arms with as many bags as he could physically hold. "Nat, can you come and help me with a few of these?" He asked as he dumped a few of the parcels onto the floor. He sincerely hoped that none had been the ones holding the eggs.

Natalia walked into the kitchen and took a few of the bags from Alfred, freeing his arms a little. "Next time why don't you take multiple trips?" she chastised lightly as she carried the parcels to the table.

"Because taking two trips is for the weak-willed!" Alfred laughed. Natalia rolled her eyes and decided to drop it.

"Oh, Alfred, I almost forgot to tell you, but there's something for you in the living room." Natalia said as she started to put away the groceries.

Alfred raised an eyebrow at Natalia, curious as to what she talking about. "Okay, I'll check it out after I finish helping you put these away," he said.

Natalia shook her head. "No need, I've got it in here. You don't want to keep your new friend waiting, do you?"

"New friend..." Alfred pondered what she had said for a moment until his eyes suddenly widened. "You didn't...?!" He immediately took off in the direction of the living room, not even bothering to see Natalia's reaction. There he saw a small brown box with air holes in it.

"No way!" he squealed, as excited as a little schoolgirl. Happily he practically tore of the lid to see what type of animal was inside. Once the top was off the box, though, Alfred frowned.

"YOU'RE NOT FUNNY, NAT!" He shouted angrily. Inside the box was a gray rock with googley-eyes glued to it.

Natalia entered the room, hiding her chuckles behind her hand. "What? I got you a pet rock!" she joked, clearly pleased with herself.

"You are a cruel lady, you know that, right?" Alfred pouted. Natalia rolled her eyes.

"We'll get a pet when we're ready, but I just don't think we are right now, okay Alfred?" she asked, leaning down next to the pouting blonde.

Alfred sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess. And until then, at least I've got Rocky!"

Natalia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Rocky?"

"Yeah, Rocky!" Alfred exclaimed, lifting up the rock.

Natalia sighed and hung her head slightly. "You actually NAMED the rock?!"

**Sorry sorry sorry SOOOORRYYYY for the long wait and short as hell chapter but I've had writer's block like crazy lately! I got writer's block for the original chapter for this, then I got writer's block for the filler I was writing to relieve writers block for that chapter, and THEN I got writer a block for THIS chapter, which is filler in place of the filler! Then add in school and my newest hobby, RPing, and I've got no time or ability for writing. I'm trying my hardest, I swear I am! Hopefully once summer finally rolls around I'll have more ideas and creativity. -_-**


	7. Sick in Bed

**I had another chapter planned, but then I got writer's block, which sucked, but then inspired for a different chapter, which didn't suck. Then I got writer's block for the other chapter AND this chapter, which sucked worse!**

**So without further ado, the next chapter.**

Natalia awoke for work in the morning just like any other day. She felt, however, like something was off. As more of her senses came to her, she noticed that her throat hurt. And not just a scratchy, morning-after-screaming-at-a-sports-event kind of hurt, but a throbbing, unnatural pain.

Natalia was stubborn, however, and dictated that she was not sick. She would be fine after she had something to eat for breakfast. Somehow she convinced herself into believing this and pushed herself out if bed. She entered the kitchen and retrieved an English muffin from the fridge, then placed the little baked-good into the toaster. While she waited for the muffin to toast she retrieved the butter from the fridge and a knife from the drawer. Eventually the toaster popped and she lathered butter on her breakfast. She took a bite, but soon after regretted it. The muffin tasted like ash in her mouth, and hurt to swallow. She might compare it to taking a bite of a pincushion and trying to eat that.

She set the little pastry on the counter and grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge. She real quickly grabbed a glass and poured herself a some milk, hoping that it could get the taste the muffin had left out of her mouth. The milk, however, had a similar taste to the afore-mentioned food. Still sputtering, she poured the rest of the glass down the drain so she wouldn't have to suffer through the noxious drink. Apparently she wasn't going to have breakfast this morning.

Natalia could hear clumsy footsteps, and soon enough Alfred entered the kitchen bearing a bright, albeit tired smile. "Morning," he greeted cheerfully as he opened a cupboard to get himself some cereal, most likely of the sickeningly-sweet variety.

"Morning," Natalia responded. Or at least she tried to respond. In reality what came out of her mouth was more of a wordless growl than a word. Alfred raised an eyebrow at this.

"You okay?" he asked. Natalia nodded and tried to hide her surprise. She didn't normally have a "morning voice," like some people did, so she didn't expect herself to sound so gravelly. "You sure?" Alfred asked again. Natalia nodded again, this time more decisively. "Okay, if you say so."

Natalia flashed him a small smile and walked back to her bedroom to get dressed. She's barely walked through the doorway, though, when a heavy tickle settled in her throat. Natalia tried clearing her airways daintily, but the action quickly changed into a rough, painful cough.

While she was coughing and wheezing, Alfred ran into her room. "Hey, you okay Nat?" he asked with a concerned look on his face. Natalia held up her finger to say "Give me a minute."

Soon after her fit was over and she was breathing deeply with her hand massaging her throat. "I'm fine," she breathed. Her voice was still as gravelly as it had been before, however.

The worry eased off of Alfred's face for the most part, but some remained, accompanied by a newfound sense of suspicion. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked again. Natalia simply nodded and waved Alfred off, walking over to her closet to select some clothes for the day. Alfred frowned slightly and left the room.

Natalia opened the wooden doors to her closet and chose a nice white blouse and black pencil skirt. She had just started to pull her night shirt up when Alfred walked back into the room through the still-open door. Quickly Natalia shoved her shirt back down to cover up her slender torso, heat quickly flushing her cheeks. "Hey!" she scolded, embarrassed. Or she tried to, at least. It came out more like a surprised yelp.

Alfred, realizing what he had done, quickly looked down, a faint blush blooming across his face. "Sorry!" he stammered. Then he looked up sheepishly to make sure Natalia was decent before approaching her. He placed his hands on her arms and guided her across the room to the end of her bed, where he sat her down gently. Next he produced a thermometer from his pocket and held it out to Natalia. She looked up at him skeptically.

"Just taking a precaution!" he said, and he waggled the thermometer. Natalia rolled her eyes and took it before roughly placing it in her mouth to placate her boyfriend. Alfred gave her a thankful smile. "Okay, you can keep getting ready now. I'll be back when it's time to read the thermometer." Then he smirked. "I'll remember to knock this time." Natalia rolled her eyes again and stood to continue getting ready. She only got as far as getting dressed before she realized she couldn't brush her teeth with the thermometer in her mouth, so she sat on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Alfred to come back.

After a while she heard a knocking on her door. She tried saying "Come in," but her scratchy throat and the object in her mouth made this impossible. This became apparent when Alfred shouted, "What was that? Can I come in?" from the other side of the door. Natalia sighed and stood up, walking over to the door to open it herself.

Alfred smiled at her from the door frame. "Still feel the same?" he asked. Natalia shrugged, then pointed to her mouth, raising an eyebrow. Alfred chuckled a bit, understanding the foreign girl's silent words. "Yeah, I'll check your temperature, now." Alfred plucked the thermometer out of Natalia's mouth and shook it a bit before reading the number where the red line stopped. He frowned, his usually cheery face turning somber, and he looked back up at Natalia.

"Change back into your PJs and get back to bed, you have a fever." Natalia opened her mouth to protest, but she was silenced by Alfred's index finger touching her lips. "No arguing, Nat. You need to rest. You get into bed, and I'll make you some chicken soup. I'll also call the book shop and tell them that you can't come in today."

Natalia wasn't pleased with this one bit. She didn't like to admit defeat to anything, and a small fever shouldn't be enough to keep her from work. Unfortunately for her ego, Alfred was already determined to keep her in bed and to take care of her all day, and once he was this decided on something there was no convincing him otherwise. So, she had no choice but to change back into her pajamas and crawl back under her covers.

Before she knew it, Natalia was being shaken awake by Alfred, who was holding a tray with a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on it, though she didn't even remember falling asleep. "Have a nice little nap?" he asked jokingly. Natalia ignored him and instead reached up for the soup. The bowl was hot against her hands, and sent steam billowing into her face when she blew on it. She brought a spoonful to her mouth and sipped it lightly. The hot liquid soothed her now aching throat and had a little more flavor to it than her previous attempts at breakfast had. She smiled graciously at Alfred, since she could not thank him verbally. It seemed that Alfred understood her thankful smile and returned it.

"It was no problem to make, I just want you to be happy and to get well soon," he said, leaning over to lightly plant a kiss on Natalia's forehead. It was small gestures like this that often left Natalia wondering what she did to deserve someone as wonderful as Alfred. Sure, he could be annoying and childish at times, but he was also the most caring person Natalia had ever met. This contradicted Natalia's cold attitude on multiple levels, but Alfred still loved her no matter how mean she could get. Alfred could have his pick of pretty much any girl in the world, and yet he for some reason chose this European girl with a mean streak and an attitude, and it baffled Natalia. At the same time, though, she couldn't be more grateful.

Alfred sat on the edge of Natalia's bed and patiently waited for her to finish her meal, chatting about random topics the whole time. Natalia quietly listened while she ate, occasionally nodding to show that she was, in fact, paying attention. When she finished eating Alfred took her dishes and left the room to put them up. By this point Natalia was exhausted, so she laid herself down, snuggled into the fluffy comforter covering the bed, and promptly started to again drift off. She was nearly completely out of it when she felt the bed shift. Confused, she turned over to see Alfred settling himself under the covers on the other side of the bed. Alfred noticed that he had awoken Natalia and gave her a bashful, apologetic smile.

"Sorry," he said, blushing and looking down slightly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just thought maybe since you were sick you would want something or someone to cuddle with."

Natalia failed to see why he would figure that. She was not a cuddly-type of person, and he knew this. It was more likely that he felt lonely without Natalia to talk to all day, and he was the one wishing for someone to cuddle with. At least this was her assumption. Still, in her sleep and sickness-addled mind she also failed to see a reason why he should not be granted access to her bed. So, instead of telling him to go away and leave her in peace, Natalia merely shrugged and rolled over so that her back was turned to Alfred. He took this as an invitation to continue burrowing himself under the sheets and Natalia felt the bed shift with his weight again.

Natalia was once again almost to the point of sleep when she felt something tickling the back of her head. She snapped her neck around to discover it had been Alfred, who was playing with her hair. He laughed nervously at being caught. "Sorry, I thought you were already asleep," he explained, his voice barely above a whisper.

Natalia sighed slightly. Alfred was being sort of annoyingly clingy at the moment, but oddly Natalia found it almost endearing. She figured that was probably crazy, or maybe her flu was affecting her mind. Still, she turned herself around and snuggled closer to Alfred's touch, finding his warmth comforting and welcome in the winter cold. She was finally starting to fall asleep when she felt Alfred's arm wrap protectively around her shoulders. She didn't shrug him off.

A few days later Natalia was feeling perfectly healthy again, and was back to her normal self. She still had to take time off of work again, though. The reason was not her own health, but instead someone else's...

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't doted on me the whole time and insisted on cuddling twenty four-seven while I was sick!" she chastised as she brought about a tray bearing tomato soup with Goldfish crackers floating in it. Alfred, who was laying out wrapped up in a blanket on the couch gratefully accepted the food.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." he muttered before raising the soup mug to his lips and drinking from it, completely ignoring the spoon that had been laid on the tray, too.

Natalia frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you be in bed, anyways? You made me stay in bed when I was sick!"

"Nat, there's a Supernatural marathon going on today that I cannot miss," Alfred explained, his voice sounding a little croaky from the sickness.

Natalia's frown deepened, but she didn't object. She really did like Supernatural, too. The different creatures and occult beings the Winchesters fought were quite interesting, to say the least. So, instead of telling Alfred he'd have to miss the marathon, Natalia sat down on the couch next to him. "Don't say I never do anything for you," she muttered.

**It's my headcanon that Alfred introduced Nat to SPN and she's totally addicted, now. It says on her Wiki page that she likes the occult, so it would totally make sense.**

**I started this chapter during Flu Season when I was sick. That's how slow my writing process is, ladies and gentlemen. I hate myself, sometimes...**

**So yeah, new chapter! Yay! I'll try working on the other one soon. Hopefully with school out now I can actually write well.**


	8. Don't Kiss Me When I'm Angry

"Alfred!" The yell echoed across the house, bouncing down the hall and reaching the ears of one Alfred F. Jones, who was in his room reading a sports magazine. He cringed visibly when he heard it. Natalia was pissed - this was bad news.

Hesitantly Alfred dog-eared his page in the magazine and cautiously entered the hallway. "Yes?" he asked, masking the fear he felt trickling down his spine.

"Come here!" came the response. To Alfred the voice sounded merciless and livid, and he wondered vaguely what he had done to make Natalia so mad.

He tiptoed into the kitchen and came face to face with the angry foreign girl. "What is it, Nat?" he asked. Hardly a second after the last word left his mouth Natalia snapped her reply.

"Would it kill you to clean up after yourself?" she asked angrily. Alfred looked down to where she was gesturing with her hands, and saw some bowls, cups and ingredients from his earlier lunch lying out on the counter.

Raising an eyebrow slightly, he spoke. "Okay, I'll clean up my stuff from lunch. You don't have to get so angry about it."

This was, however, the wrong thing to say. "I don't need to get angry about it?" Natalia questioned, the anger in her voice increasing. "I have every right to be angry about the fact that you never pick up any of the messes you make around this house! Lord only knows how you managed before I came around! Every time you do anything I end up cleaning up after you! It's annoying and childish of you! If you had a shred of responsibility in you and could be bothered to actually get off your ass and do something, maybe I-"

Natalia's words were cut off suddenly by Alfred's lips smashing into hers. It wasn't too graceful, and Natalia ended up cutting her bottom lip on her teeth a little. Pulling away instinctively, Natalia stepped backward and angrily yelled " Just what in the HELL was that?!"

Alfred stalled for a moment, before muttering, "Well, in the movies, when the girl is angry, that's what the hero always does-"

"YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE!" Natalia hollered before storming out of the kitchen and into her room, slamming the door roughly behind her, leaving behind one very confused Alfred F. Jones.

**Fight because real couples fight sometimes over silly stuff. Don't worry kids, they made up later. This just seems like something Alfred would do, though.**

**Oh, and off topic, but if anyone wants to, I don't know, follow me on tumblr/talk to me my url is wheelbarrow-full-of-deutschmarks and there's a link to my page on my profile.**


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